Exclusive: PepsiCo’s high-speed F1 play - CEO Eugene Willemsen on the Mercedes partnership

PepsiCo is shifting gears in the global sports arena, accelerating its ambitions through a new multi-layered partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team. In a landscape where elite sports increasingly shape cultural relevance and brand performance, the company is moving beyond traditional sponsorship to embed its beverage portfolio directly into one of the world’s most technologically intense and physically demanding sports.

Eugene Willemsen, CEO of PepsiCo International Beverages, speaks to Storyboard18 about how this collaboration strengthens the company’s long-term growth strategy, leverages performance science to support athletes, and positions its brands—from Gatorade to Sting and Doritos—at the center of fan engagement and global momentum.

Excerpts:

How does the new partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team fit into the long-term brand and growth strategy for International Beverages? What are the unique strategic objectives you expect F1 to unlock that other sports partnerships haven’t delivered?

This partnership represents a strategic evolution of our F1 presence. While our existing Formula 1 relationship is extremely valuable to us and we cannot wait to fully release its potential in 2026, partnering with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team allows us to go even deeper into the sport through a team, its drivers and its personnel.

With Mercedes, we're integrated into team performance. Gatorade, through the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), is working directly with drivers and team personnel to optimize hydration strategies in one of the most physically demanding sports in the world.

When drivers can lose up to 4 kilograms through sweat in a single race, hydration becomes a competitive advantage. This partnership also gives us access to two exceptional athletes, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who represent both established excellence and emerging talent. That driver connection - creating content, engaging fans, telling authentic stories - is something you can only achieve through a team partnership.

F1 is an expensive, highly competitive global property. How do you measure success beyond traditional brand-lift metrics?

What sets this partnership apart is its breadth of integration. By embedding our portfolio into the team ecosystem, we create more value for Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team and more touchpoints with fans globally, from the paddock to digital platforms, from athlete performance to cultural engagement.

Most importantly, this partnership represents a shift from traditional sponsorship to tangible athlete development. Through authentic performance integration, we are moving beyond logos and visibility to deliver measurable impact on driver and team performance.

Are there any learnings from past PepsiCo sports or entertainment partnerships that are shaping your approach this time?

Across our global sports and entertainment partnerships, we’ve learned that impact comes from understanding where each brand can add the most value, whether that’s through performance, culture or brand presence. Every partnership is different, and the most effective ones are the ones where we tailor our approach to the needs of the platform and the expectations of the audience and the consumers.

In Formula 1, the opportunity is unique. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team partnership allows us to bring together performance science through Gatorade, energy through Sting, and bold fan engagement through Doritos, all in ways that feel natural to the sport and meaningful for fans.

Those are the learnings we bring forward: be intentional, be authentic to each brand’s strength, and build partnerships that evolve over time as the sport and consumer expectations grow.

Looking ahead, should we expect PepsiCo to lean more heavily into elite global sports as a growth engine, or will the mix of partnerships evolve?

Our approach has always been guided by where our consumers are and how they choose to engage with the brands they love. Elite sports like Formula 1 offer incredible reach and cultural momentum today, but the principle that drives us is relevance, not simply scale. The partnerships we have with Formula 1 and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team are a multi-year commitment that allows us to build something meaningful over time, grounded in performance, energy and fan connection.

At the same time, we manage a broad portfolio of partnerships across sports and entertainment, each serving a different consumer need and brand ambition. As behaviours evolve, our mix of partnerships will evolve with them.

What matters most is showing up in ways that feel authentic and valuable to our consumers, whether that’s through global sports platforms, emerging cultural spaces, or new forms of digital engagement.

Given the volatility across regions, what gives you confidence in PepsiCo’s long-term growth algorithm through 2026?

Our confidence comes from the strength of the foundations we’ve built over the years. Our portfolio is diversified across categories and geographies, which gives us resilience even when dynamics vary from market to market. We also operate with a high degree of agility using data, local insight, and flexible supply chains to respond quickly to shifts in consumer behaviour or the broader macro environment.

And importantly, we continue to invest in the capabilities that matter for the long term: digital transformation, productivity, innovation, social impact and a sustainability agenda that strengthens both brand equity and our cultural relevance.